A wiseman once said: Luck is preparation meeting opportunity. So, there I was, prepared to buy a Sony SCD-1, a machine I just new would stir my tea. Thing was, my local dealer didn't have an SCD-1, he didn't even sell the brand.
Well, what do you have? I asked.
Alot of my clients like Audio Note. You should take this DAC home for the weekend. He smiled wryly.
Let me tell you that that DAC Zero (the bottom of the AN line, mind you) struck me upside the head as if to say "Here I am! The one you've been looking for!"
Well, I brought back the borrowed DAC, and ordered the most expensive version up the line that I could afford.
Nuff said, I suppose. Since that "lucky" day, I've been climbing the Audio Note ladder. Even tried my hand a building a couple of pieces. They sound great and provide quite a bit of fun and enlightenment, too. Check 'em out:
http://audionotekits.espyderweb.net/
So why did I go with Cain & Cain instead of AN speakers? Mostly 'cause I don't have the required corners for the Audio Note speakers to sound their best. The curse of the modern tract home--all open spaces and not a symetrical cornered room in sight. Oh well; the room sounds good as it stands.
Thoughts on room treatment and other upgrades welcome.
I'm enjoying my journey as I hope you are yours.
April 06 Update: replaced the AN copper caps in the Balanced Line Pre with AN Silver caps. Stunning! The difference is not subtle. Almost frightening in it's resolving power. I'd take a picture, but, well, you know, they're caps! Ok, they look kinda cool, but this neurosis goes a bit far when you start looking at caps and lusting. Right?
CDT-2/II, wasn't too sure how much difference a transport would make. No second-guessing now. This thing is amazing. Physicality and sense of space are it's calling cards.
Audio Note M-2 line
Balanced Pre kit, uses M2 power supply and M3 (pre 2006) amplifier section which drives HiB core output transformers. With copper AN caps and AN-V along with some Black Gates for good measure--this thing is quite impressive.
Audio Note DAC-4
Audio Note DAC 4.1x Balanced
Audio Note Meishu P-3
Kit1, this was my first Audio Note kit I built. After hearing what the DAC did, I just had to try this. 300B, set, no neg feedback. Upgraded with Black Gates, silver wire, tantalum resistors and plenty of good tubes--red base 5692 RCA and Western Electrics are are glorious combination! This is an amp to hold onto for life.
Audio Note Kit Interstate Monos
All blackgates, AN HiB Ccore output tx, and Ultra HiB Ccore interstage tx. WE300b. Big and beautiful!
Audio Note AN-E/Spe HE
High eff, hemp coned in very nice madrone burl on Sound Anchor stands
Audio Concepts Titan
One nice thing about big, open tract homes is the lack of standing waves. That's about the only nice thing that can be said from an audio viewpoint. With my huge volume room *see pic*, a single Titan does a good job taking the baton from the Cains. A pair would do more, for sure, but with test discs I get solid 27Hz response. Better yet, I like the way it plays music, and it matches the Cain's finish nicely.
In my 3.1x I switched from the stock JAN Philips to '70s vintage (I think) Siemens, with nice gains in resolution, linearity and transparency. I didn't roll the rectifier, though. My current 4.1x is bone stock - at that level I trust Peter Q to feed it what it needs for best performance.
As another datum, my Tom Evans amps have transformers, and the HDLs, um, "transform" the sound. The other ones I tried were called BOB, from Argent Audio. I liked them at first, then changed my mind on further audition. Not so with the Walkers.
I don't buy the transformer explanation. given that they are a low-pass filter, I think that talking about "Zobels" in general is like talking about "crossovers" in general. The devil is in the details.
I'll be putting my PX-25 amp back in for a listen some time soon, and I'll see if the Walkers coexist with it better than BOB did.
The 60A3 is the IsoClean model designator. I'm running my transport, DAC, line stage and amp off it, on one dedicated circuit, and it sounds wonderful. It's the first power treatment I've heard that doesn't seem to have a downside.
One other tweak to think about is the current iteration of the Walker High Definition Links. The devil must be in the details, because I tried one other design of Zobel networks, and they mucked with the sound something fierce. The Walkers have been running in my system for about a week now, and seem to have a similar sonic effect as the IsoClean filter. Glare goes away, the sound gets more harmonically dense, a touch sweeter ("sweetened with REAL fruit juice!") and more present, without any damage to the microdetails or the dynamics.
Thanks for the invitation. I wish I could make it to Sacramento, but I'm in Canada and until the next Presidential election the US is on my no-fly list :-(
Your system looks lovely - it seems as though you have a very good understanding of the sound you want.
The exact same thing happened to me with the AN Zero DAC. My dealer loaned one to me for a week, and when I took it back I ordered a 3.1x. As a matter of fact, differences in specific brands notwithstanding, we're on very similar sonic trajectories. I expect you love the sense of coherent, organic wholeness you're getting from that system.
As an upgrade, look into the IsoClean 60A3 filter. It's should be a real ear-opener on a system like yours - I know it was on mine, even with dedicated power lines.
